| Basingstoke | |
|---|---|
| Basingstoke railway station, as seen from Alençon Link | |
| Location | |
| Place | Basingstoke |
| Local authority | Basingstoke and Deane |
| Grid reference | SU637525 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | BSK |
| Managed by | South West Trains |
| Number of platforms | 5 |
| Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries |
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| Annual rail passenger usage | |
| 2004/05 * | 4.084 million |
| 2005/06 * | 4.162 million |
| 2006/07 * | 4.394 million |
| 2007/08 * | 4.596 million |
| 2008/09 * | 4.865 million |
| 2009/10 * | 4.640 million |
| History | |
| Original company | London and South Western Railway |
| Pre-grouping | London and South Western Railway |
| Post-grouping | Southern Railway |
| 10 June 1839 | Station opened |
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |
| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Basingstoke from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year. | |
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Basingstoke railway station, in the town of Basingstoke in the county of Hampshire in England, is on the South Western Main Line from London Waterloo, with local and fast services operated by South West Trains. It is also the terminus of First Great Western local services on the Reading to Basingstoke Line. Long distance cross-country services operated by CrossCountry to Bournemouth from Birmingham, Manchester and further north, join the main line from the branch there. The station is sponsored by AXA Winterthur Insurance who are based in the town.
Contents |
The station was opened by the London and South Western Railway as a temporary terminus when its line to Southampton reached Basingstoke from London. It became a through station when the section running north from Southampton was completed later in 1839. The intention to build a line from near Basingstoke to Bristol was dropped when the Great Western Railway was approved.[1] The L&SWR did, however plan a line to Salisbury from Basingstoke but this was delayed by financial difficulties. Eventually, it was built reaching Andover in 1854 and Salisbury three years later, before being extended to become the West of England Main Line.
The Great Western Railway built its broad gauge line from Reading in 1845 with a separate station north of the L&SWR station. After its conversion to standard gauge in 1856, through services could run between Southampton and Reading. The GWR station was demolished in 1932.[2] Although some through services were run to Windsor, there is no evidence that they ever ran to the GWR's London terminus at Paddington.
Basingstoke station was the terminus of the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway, opened in 1901 to prevent the GWR from building a line on this route towards Portsmouth. The line was never profitable and during the First World War, some of the track was sold off. After the war, Southern Railway had the line reopened, only for it to be closed finally in 1932.
In the 1980s, Platform 5 was converted to a bay platform to permit an entrance on the northern side. In 1993, an explosive device planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army was found in a toilet, soon after a bomb scare at Reading railway station.[3] In 2001 a suitcase was left outside the station containing the mutilated body of a man in his twenties. He had been stabbed to death.[4]
Anglia Railways ran a London Crosslink service from Ipswich to Basingstoke via Stratford and the North London Line using Class 170 'Turbostars' between May 2000 and September 2002. South West Trains also ran a local service from Reading to Brighton until timetable changes on 9 December 2007.[5] Southern railway services from Southampton and Portsmouth to Brighton were improved to compensate for that.[6]
The station has five platforms, all of which can be used bi-directionally. They are above street level and are accessed via stairs and lifts from the booking hall and subway.
Platform 1 is the closest to the main entrance on the south side. It is used by terminating slow services to and from London Waterloo. Regional services to Southampton and Poole also stop here, along with westbound CrossCountry and freight services to Southampton and Bournemouth.
Platform 2 is on the south side of the island platform with Platform 3 on the north. Platform 2 is used by the other down mainline services to Portsmouth and Southampton from Waterloo. It is also used by trains on the West of England Main Line to Salisbury, where every other train continues to Exeter. Some peak-time trains divide at Salisbury with one portion running to Bristol Temple Meads. Up trains use Platform 3 and are the fastest trains to London Waterloo.
Some slower trains to London Waterloo use Platform 4, on the northern side of station. It is also used by northbound CrossCountry which head to Reading before reversing and continuing to Birmingham, and onwards to the north. Northbound freight trains from Southampton docks heading this way also pass through here. The rear entrance to the station is located on this platform.
Platform 5 is a bay platform used by stopping services to Reading on the Reading to Basingstoke Line operated by First Great Western.
The station has two entrances. The main entrance to the south has access to a taxi rank, some car parks and a bus stop, with steps down to The Malls shopping centre. A bridge over Churchill Way leads to the bus station. Festival Place can be accessed from The Malls or the bus station, while Festival Square and the Top of Town are located beyond the bus station. The northern entrance on Platform 4 gives access to a car park. The south booking hall has ticket facilities (including ticket machines), information and a small shop. The station is staffed all day, and both entrances have ticket barriers.
There is a small café on the central island platform and another on Platform 4, as well as indoor waiting rooms.
On 19 December 2008 an over-height container on the Wakefield Europort to Southampton Docks service struck and damaged 130 metres (140 yd) of the canopy of platform 1.[7] The train was stopped before it reached the tunnels north of Micheldever.
The London and South Western Railway opened a locomotive shed on the south side of the main line, to the west of the station in 1839. This was closed in 1909 to make way for station enlargement. It was replaced by a larger structure on the north side of the line. This was closed by British Railways in March 1963, but remained in use as a servicing point until the end of steam in June 1967. It was demolished in 1969.[8]
The Berks and Hants Railway opened a small shed to the east of the station on the north side of the line in 1850. This was closed by British Railways in November 1950, and demolished to make way for sidings.[9]
Typical off peak service patterns:
South West Trains
South Western Main Line - Eastbound
Services are operated by Class 159, 444, 450 units, of which:
South Western Main Line - Westbound
Services on this route are operated by Class 444, 450 units. Some peak time additional services use 159s.
Services on this routes are operated by Class 159 units
Services on this route are operated using Class 220/221 units.
Services on this route are operated using Classes 165 and 166 units.
In Addition to the Semi-Fast service to Weymouth, passengers are also able to reach stations towards Weymouth in a similar time with 1 change:
Passengers can take the southbound Cross Country service to Winchester, where they can alight and wait approximately 10 minutes to join the express service to Weymouth that didn't stop at Basingstoke.
Passengers will need to alight from the Weymouth – Waterloo Express service at Winchester (as this service doesn't stop at Basingstoke), where they can wait for approximately 15 minutes to join the Portsmouth Harbour – Waterloo via Basingstoke Service to convey them to Basingstoke.
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hook | South West Trains Waterloo to Basingstoke |
Terminus | ||
| Woking | South West Trains South Western Main Line Fast/Semi-Fast Services |
Winchester | ||
| South West Trains South Western Main Line Stopping Services |
Micheldever | |||
| Woking | South West Trains West of England Main Line |
Overton | ||
| Reading | CrossCountry Bournemouth-Manchester |
Winchester | ||
| CrossCountry Southampton-Newcastle |
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| CrossCountry Bournemouth-Edinburgh |
||||
| Bramley (Hants) | First Great Western Reading to Basingstoke Line |
Terminus | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Farnborough (Main) | Anglia Railways London Crosslink |
Terminus | ||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Terminus | Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway | Cliddesden | ||
| Terminus | Park Prewett Hospital Railway | Park Prewett Hospital | ||